Anthony Gill

Deandre Ayton, Marvin Bagley III Among Players Receiving QOs

The Suns have issued a qualifying offer to center Deandre Ayton, making him a restricted free agent, reports Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link). Ayton’s qualifying offer is worth $16,422,835.

[RELATED: Hoops Rumors Glossary: Qualifying Offers]

Although there have been consistent whispers about the possibility of Ayton leaving Phoenix in free agency this summer, there was never any doubt that he’d receive a qualifying offer. That QO ensures that he doesn’t become an unrestricted free agent and gives the Suns the opportunity to match any offer sheet he signs with a rival team. Ayton also has the option of signing the one-year, $16.4MM deal if he wants to become an unrestricted free agent in 2023, though that’s considered very unlikely.

Here are a few more updates on qualifying offer decisions from around the NBA:

  • The Pistons have tendered a qualifying offer worth $7,228,448 to big man Marvin Bagley III, making him a restricted free agent, tweets Smith. Multiple reports in recent weeks and months have indicated that re-signing Bagley will be a priority for Detroit this offseason. His cap hold will exceed $28MM, but if the two sides agree to terms quickly once free agency opens, the Pistons will be able to maximize their cap room by reducing that $28MM cap hold to a first-year salary that will come in much lower.
  • The Nets have issued qualifying offers to center Nic Claxton and two-way guard David Duke, per Smith (Twitter link). Claxton’s QO is worth $2,228,276 while Duke’s is for another two-way contract. Both players are now restricted free agents.
  • The Nuggets have extended qualifying offers to forward Vlatko Cancar and two-way swingman Davon Reed, according to Smith (Twitter link). Like Claxton, Cancar has a $2,228,276 qualifying offer. Reed’s is for another two-way contract, though it’s possible he could generate interest from teams interested in giving him a standard roster spot.
  • Wizards forward Anthony Gill received a qualifying offer making him a restricted free agent, according to Smith (Twitter link). Gill’s QO projects to be worth $2,011,516, though that could increase or decrease slightly depending on where the salary cap for 2022/23 ends up.
  • The Warriors have made swingman Quinndary Weatherspoon a restricted free agent by giving him a two-way qualifying offer, reports Smith (Twitter link). Golden State reportedly agreed to a deal with Lester Quinones to fill the team’s other two-way slot.

COVID-19 Updates: Beal, Gill, Pacers, Pritchard, Young, Sixers

Wizards guard Bradley Beal re-entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols on Tuesday, as Josh Robbins of The Athletic tweets. It’s Beal’s second protocol-related absence within the last month — he missed three games between December 23-28 due to contact tracing, Robbins notes.

Unlike last season, when any player determined to be a close contact of someone who tested positive for COVID-19 was placed in the protocols, those guidelines only apply to unvaccinated players this season. Beal began the season unvaccinated, but confirmed when he returned in late December that he had recently received the vaccine. That could mean his absence this time around isn’t related to contact tracing, and that he returned a positive or inconclusive test.

The Wizards did get one piece of good news on Tuesday afternoon, as forward Anthony Gill exited the protocols, per Robbins (Twitter link). That means Beal is currently the only Washington player affected.

Here are more protocol-related updates from around the NBA:

  • The Pacers announced on Tuesday that Caris LeVert and Goga Bitadze have exited the health and safety protocols, as James Boyd of The Indianapolis Star writes. Both players have a chance to be available on Wednesday vs. Boston. They’re listed as questionable for now.
  • The Celtics no longer have any players in the COVID-19 protocols, as guard Payton Pritchard has been cleared, according to Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston (Twitter link).
  • Spurs forward Thaddeus Young is no longer in the health and safety protocols, tweets Paul Garcia of Project Spurs. However, San Antonio still has five players in the protocols, tied with Utah for the highest current total in the league.
  • Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey and forward Paul Reed aren’t listed on the team’s latest injury report, indicating that they’ve both cleared the protocols (Twitter links via Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer and Noah Levick of NBC Sports Philadelphia).
  • Of approximately 2,400 “tier 1” staffers working for NBA teams, there have been more than 500 confirmed cases of COVID-19 this season, creating major challenges for franchises, writes Baxter Holmes of ESPN. “You’re basically taking an assembly of people who help the athletes and taking a few people off the line every few days for a week or more,” one athletic training official told ESPN. “It has interfered significantly with the regular protocols and people being given responsibilities/duties they don’t normally have or are even qualified to do in order to get the job done. It’s been the Wild Wild West.”

COVID-19 Updates: Green, Anderson, Butler, Satoransky, Nesmith, Gill, Brooks

Warriors star Draymond Green has cleared the NBA’s health and safety protocols, according to Marc J. Spears of ESPN’s The Undefeated (Twitter link). He’s expected to play in Monday’s game against Miami.

Green missed two games due to protocols, including Golden State’s road contest against Utah on Saturday. The Warriors still ended up winning 123-116 and currently own the league’s best record at 28-7.

Here are some other COVID-19 updates from around the association:

COVID-19 Updates: Wizards, Trail Blazers, Heat, Rockets, Sixers, I. Thomas, More

The league continues to be battered by players entering and exiting the health and safety protocols. If any of the players entering the protocols registered a confirmed positive COVID-19 test, they’ll remain sidelined for at least six days or until they can return two consecutive negative tests at least 24 hours apart.

Here are the latest updates from around the NBA:

COVID-19 Updates: Wizards, Billups, Thunder, Hornets, Raptors, More

The Wizards now have five players in the NBA’s health and safety protocols, according to head coach Wes Unseld Jr., who told reporters today that Anthony Gill and Thomas Bryant are the latest players to enter the protocols (Twitter link via Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington).

Bryant is coming off an ACL tear and has yet to play this season, so being in the protocols won’t affect his availability. However, Gill will no longer be an option in the short term for the Wizards after appearing in eight of the team’s last 11 games.

Here are more COVID-19 updates from around the NBA:

  • Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups has entered the COVID-19 protocols, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter links), who reports that assistant Scott Brooks is expected to become Portland’s acting head coach as long as Billups is unavailable.
  • Aleksej Pokusevski and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl of the Thunder have entered the health and safety protocols, according to the team (Twitter link via Wojnarowski). Aaron Wiggins also briefly entered the protocols, but has since been listed as available, tweets Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. Oklahoma City now has four players in the protocols.
  • The Hornets announced some good news and some bad news on Monday. While Cody Martin has exited the protocols and has been cleared to play on Monday vs. Houston, rookie Scottie Lewis is now in the protocols, according to the team (Twitter link).
  • Three Raptors players – Pascal Siakam, Khem Birch, and Gary Trent Jr. – have exited the protocols and are listed as questionable for Tuesday’s game vs. Philadelphia as they go through a reconditioning period, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca. Toronto still has seven players in the protocols, but may finally be trending in the right direction.
  • Celtics forward Grant Williams boarded a flight to Minnesota earlier today and expects to play tonight vs. the Wolves, according to Jared Weiss of The Athletic (Twitter link). Williams has been in the health and safety protocols since December 17.
  • Although Ziaire Williams remains on the shelf due to an ankle sprain, he’s no longer listed in the protocols in the Grizzlieslatest injury report, suggesting he has been cleared.

Southeast Notes: Bamba, Oubre, Gill, Wizards

Mohamed Bamba won’t play for the Magic when Summer League starts on Sunday, but he’s practicing with his teammates in Las Vegas, writes Chris Hays of The Orlando Sentinel. The third-year center got a path to regular minutes for the first time in his career when Orlando unloaded its veteran centers last spring and turned the position over to Bamba and Wendell Carter Jr.

“For me it was no-brainer,” Bamba said of his decision to come to Las Vegas. “We got a new coach, new system, new guys and I just wanted to get well acclimated way before training camp.”

Jamahl Mosley, who has taken over as head coach, said this week that it was encouraging to see Bamba join the team on his own. Bamba said he’s looking forward to playing under Mosley.

“He’s made it clear that my presence (on the floor) is needed, is wanted and it’s just all about getting out there and putting in the right amount of work,” Bamba said. “Practicing with the team only helps the chemistry of the team. Coming out here … I had a choice, either to stay in Orlando and work with the coaches that didn’t come to Summer League or come here and add in these good deposits from the team.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

  • Free agent forward Kelly Oubre received offers from eight other teams before deciding to sign with the Hornets, tweets Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. Oubre’s agent, Torrel Harris of Unique Sports International Management, says the Knicks, Lakers, Clippers, Bucks, Nuggets, Nets, Trail Blazers and Cavaliers all presented offers to Oubre.
  • Today marked the guarantee date for Wizards power forward Anthony Gill, tweets Fred Katz of The Athletic. Gill will make $1,517,981 in 2021/22, giving Washington 13 fully guaranteed contracts. That doesn’t include center Daniel Gafford, whose $1,782,621 won’t be guaranteed until the league-wide guarantee date of January 7.
  • Wizards Summer League players Cassius Winston, Issuf Sanon and Isaiah Todd have all been placed in the NBA’s health and safety protocols, according to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington (Twitter link). Their replacements include former NBA players Cheick Diallo and Derrick Walton Jr. (Twitter link)

Southeast Notes: Gill, Butler, Heat, Borrego

Wizards forward Anthony Gill made the most of his opportunity in the team’s game against the Thunder on Friday, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington writes.

Gill received more playing time largely due to the absence of Deni Avdija (season-ending fibula fracture) and finished with nine points and 10 rebounds in 20 minutes. It was just his 19th appearance of the season.

“AG, I’m proud of him. He hasn’t played much,” head coach Scott Brooks said. “The guy works harder than anybody on our team. He comes in every day. He comes in early. He’s always cheering his teammates on, he’s the first one up [off the bench].”

Gill will have a bigger opportunity on Sunday as he starts in place of injured forward Rui Hachimura against the Cavaliers.

There’s more from the Southeast Division tonight:

Wizards Sign Anthony Gill To Two-Year Deal

NOVEMBER 30: The Wizards have officially signed Gill, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link). Sources tell Katz that it’s a two-year, minimum-salary deal with a non-guaranteed second year.


NOVEMBER 20: The Wizards have reached a two-year agreement with power forward Anthony Gill, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

The 6’8″ Gill, 28, went undrafted out of Virginia in 2016 and has spent his professional career overseas. He’s played the last three seasons with Khimki in the EuroLeague.

In 70 career games with Khimki, Gill averaged 10.5 PPG, 4.3 RPG and 1.2 APG in 23.5 MPG. He’s a solid 3-point shooter, knocking down 40.6% of his attempts.

Gill adds more depth to Washington’s roster as a stretch four. The Wizards are still hoping to re-sign Davis Bertans.

Southeast Notes: Schlenk, Wizards, Collins, Bogdanovic

In a revealing media conversation on Wednesday, Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk suggested that he does not intend to add any more players to Atlanta’s roster ahead of training camp, according to Sarah K. Spencer of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The team currently has 17 players on its roster, including its two-way players.

Although Schlenk does not anticipating trading the club’s new depth yet, he does think that the Hawks have enough players to package in a deal if needed.

“One of the things I really like about where we are is with the veteran guys, with the young guys we have, we have a lot of guys on our roster that other teams value,” Schlenk said of the Hawks’ new-look squad. “So we always try to keep ourselves in a position, if there is a star player that becomes available, we’re in a position to try to go acquire those.”

There’s more out of the league’s Southeast Division:

  • Fred Katz of The Athletic recaps an interesting offseason for the Wizards, including the re-signing of $80MM man Davis Bertans, the addition of backup center Robin Lopez, and the drafting of forward Deni Avdija and his positional fit on the roster. Additionally, Katz reports that forward Anthony Gill, another new addition, received “significant offers” to return to the EuroLeague for the 2020/21 season. The 28-year-old sharpshooter connected on 44 percent of his long-range looks for Khimki in Russia during the 2019/20 season.
  • Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk indicated that Atlanta would like to work out a contract extension with power forward John Collins, Mark Medina of USA Today tweets. Though the club added forward Danilo Gallinari to the tune of a lucrative three-year, $60MM contract in free agency this offseason, Collins is expected to remain the starting four.
  • New Hawks shooting guard Bogdan Bogdanovic is among the top offseason additions who seem primed to push the Hawks into the playoff mix, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic opines.

Southeast Notes: Winslow, Durant, Hornets

Heat swingman Justise Winslow just completed his rookie campaign and hopes to develop into a player who the franchise can build around, of The Miami Herald relays. “Yeah, definitely. Growing up, that was something I always wanted,” Winslow responded when asked if he wants to be the face of the franchise. “And being part of an organization that over the past 10, 13 years has sort of been built around one guy, it’s just something to look forward to. I know there’s a lot of work to be done. I’m not sure what team it will be with, hopefully with Miami, but eventually I would want to be a franchise guy, a leader on a team and the guy that the organization kind of builds around.

Here’s the latest from the Southeast Division:

  • The Heat held a free agent mini-camp this week and attendees included Rodney McGruder, Quinton Upshur, Brandan Kearney, Juwan Howard Jr., Jabril Trawick, Okaro White, Xavier Gibson, Kevin Tumba, Kenny Gabriel and Norvel Pelle, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald notes.
  • While the notion is certainly a long-shot, Mike Bianchi of The Orlando Sentinel makes the case for why Kevin Durant should sign with the Magic if he departs Oklahoma City as a free agent this offseason. The scribe cites the lack of media pressure, the presence of GM Rob Hennigan, who Durant is familiar with from their time together with the Thunder, new coach Frank Vogel and the team’s wealth of cap space as reasons the Slim Reaper should give serious consideration to joining Orlando.
  • The Hornets have workouts set for Thursday with Isaiah Cousins (Oklahoma), Anthony Gill (Virginia), A.J. Hammons (Purdue), Codi Miller-McIntyre (Wake Forest), Chinanu Onuaku (Louisville) and Kyle Wiltjer (Gonzaga), the team announced.